Gear shifting mechanism for grain drills or the like



March 2, 1948. A, HYLAND 2,437,094

GEAR SHIF'IING MECHANISM FOR GRAIN DRILLS OR THE LIKE 4 Filed Dec. 22-,1945 INVENTOR.

IAM A. HYLAND Patented Mar. 2, 1948 GEAR sHI'E'rIN MEcHANIsr/r FOR GRAINDRILLS OR THE LIKE;

William A. Hyl and; Her-icon; Wisf, assignor tov John Deere Van-BruntCompany, a corporation of Wisconsin Application December 22,1945,.SerialLNo. 636,840:

3 Claims. 1

The present-invention relate generally to agricultural machines and"more particularly to grainidrills andtlie' like.

The object and general nature of the present invention is the provisionof'ja' new and'improved mechanism for=changing the rate of drive of thefertilizerdistributing mechanism of'a graindrill, andv more,particularly the agitator drive shaft of "a fertilizer grain drill, Morespecifically, it is an important-featurecf'this-invention to provide asimple and'ifiexpensive means for shifting a compoundg 'e'anmember onthe jaclcshaft of the fertilizer drive from one: position to another andadditionallyiholding the -same in either of its selected positions.Particularly, it is a feature of=-this invention toprovide a springmember' mounted on the shiftable gear member and havingastud-orthelikeengageable in either one or the other of a pair of openings orrecesses formed on the driving jackshaft, the spring member having afinger hold which provides not only for engaging and disengaging theretaining stud from the shaft but also has a means for convenientlyshifting the gear member from one position to another.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the fertilizer section of a graindrill; and

Figures 2 and 3 are views showing the different position of theshiftable gear member.

Referring now to the drawings, the seed box of a grain drill in whichthe principles of the present invention have been incorporated isindicated by the reference numeral I and preferably includes acompartment 2 adapted to contain fertilizer which is adapted to bedischarged therefrom through fertilizer spouts (not shown) which arefastened to fertilizer bottom plates 3.

The fertilizer in the compartment 2 is kept in a free flowing conditionby a plurality of agitators mounted for rotation in the compartment 2,each being fixed to the upper end of a shaft, the lower end of whichreceives a bevel gear 4 and is journaled for rotation in a journalsection 5 formed on or carried by each of the bottom plates 3, Theseveral gears 4, only one of which is shown in Figure 1, are drivensimultaneously by a fertilizer drive shaft 8 that is mounted forrotation in brackets 9 formed on the bottom plates 3 and which carries aplurality of driving pinions ll, one for each of the agitator drivegears 4. The

shaft 8 is driven by a compound gear-member 12? having a small gearsection l3 and a; large gear-"section" l4; H

The shafti-supporting bars"S'are extended; as at 5; and=receive-apairof'hanger IT and la in" which" a jackshaft l 9" issupported for rota tion; The jachshaft i ii is-preferably' square andcarries? a slidable' gear member-Zwthereon: The gear member 2i) is alsoa"comp oundgear; having a smaller section 2:] and alarg'ergear section22', Thesections Ztand ZZ' are; however; spaced apart farther than thesections l3 and M oftl'ie gear member it, so that-cnly=one-ofth sections2i and 22 can beaneshed-"wit-h the other gear sections 13 an l l i atany one-time; -A- sproclet gear, annexed-to the outer end of thejacnsnaft I91; and receives} a s rocket chain: 2e: whi driven'iin: anysuitable manner; as by-a sprocket on the axle of the grain arm. Thehanger I8 is provided with a section 21 which serves as a shi ld for thesprocket 25 and chain 26.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 3, the shiftable gear 20 is held ineither of its two optional positions by a spring member 3! having an end32 securedto the web 33 of the gear section 22 by a rivet 34 or othersuitable means. The spring member St at its outer end is formed withhooklike section 36 forming a finger hold, and a stud 3? is carried bythe spring member 3! adjacent its outer end. The jackshaft i9 isprovided with a pair of openings 38 and 39 spaced so that when the stud3? is disposed in the opening 39, as shown in Figure 2, the gear section22 meshes with the gear section l3, and when the stud 31 is disposed inthe opening 33, as shown in Figure 3, the gear section 2! meshes withthe gear section l4.

When it is desired to drive the fertilizer agitator shaft 8 at arelatively slow speed, the finger hold section 35 of the spring 3i isgrasped and lifted out of the position shown in Figure 2, which is theposition for high speed drive, and, utilizing the spring 3!, the gearmember 2!! is shifted over into the position shown in Figure 3, and whenthe gear sections I4 and 2| are in proper mesh the spring section 35 isreleased and the stud 31 permitted to enter the opening 38 in the shaftl9. This not only positions the gear 20 in the proper place but,additionally, serves to retain the gear 20 in this position until it isdesired to change back to a high speed drive, which is readily done bygrasping the spring end 36, disengaging the stud 31 from the opening 38,using the spring 3| to shift the gear member 20 back to the positionshown in Figure 2' and then releasing the spring 3| to 3 permit the stud31 to lie in the opening 39 (Figure 2).

While I have shown and described above the preferred structure in whichthe principles of the present invention have been incorporated, it is tobe understood that my invention is not to be limited to the particulardetails shown and described above, but that, in fact, widely diiferentmeans may be employed in the broader aspects .of my invention.

What I claim, therefore, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a grain drill, a shaft, a gear member slidable thereon, said shafthaving a pair of axially spaced recesses therein, and gear shifting andholding means comprising a flat spring member adapted to extend for themajor portion of its length along said shaft and having at one end aradially outwardly turned portion and means securing said outwardlyturned portion to said gear, the opposite end portion of said springmember having a lug thereon engageable in either one or the other ofsaid recesses in the shaft, depending upon the position of said gearthereon, and said spring member having outwardly of said stud anintegral radially outwardly curved generally hook shaped section servingas a finger hold by which said spring member may be swung outwardly todisengage the stud from the recess and when the lug is so disengagedsaid finger hold may be used to shift said gear into another position onsaid shaft.

2. In a grain drill or the like having a shaft with a pair of axiallyspaced recesses therein, a shiftable gear member adapted for shiftablemounting on said shaft, and a spring holding and gear shifting membercomprising a fiat spring member fixed at one end to the radially innerportion of said gear adjacent said shaft and having a portion adapted toextend axially outwardly away from said gear and along said shaft, saidspring member having at its outer end a recess-engaging stud spacedaxially outwardly of said gear and axially outwardly of said stud afinger hold section which may be grasped for disengaging the stud fromthe recess and shifting said gear along said shaft.

3. In a grain drill or the like having a polygonal shaft with a pair ofaxially spaced recesses formed in one of the flat sides of said shaft, ashiftable gear member adapted for shiftable mounting on said polygonalshaft, and a spring holding and gear shifting member comprising a fiatspring member fixed at one end to said gear and having a portion adaptedto extend along and in substantial contact with said one fiat side ofsaid shaft, said spring member having at its outer end a recess-engagingstud fixedly secured thereto, whereby said spring acts through said studto hold said gear member against axial movement along said shaft, saidspring member having outwardly of said stud a generally semi-circularfinger-embracing section adapted to be engaged with one finger for,first, disengaging the stud from one of said recesses and, second,shifting said gear along said shaft.

WILLIAM A. HYLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 858,651 Griffith July 2, 1907Butler Apr. 22, 1913

